In the opinion of a growing number of scientists, salt and other sources of sodium in the diet should be kept to a minimum. Keeping sodium to a minimum is believed to be particularly important for blacks and for the elderly, who are considered to be more susceptible to high blood pressure than the general population of the United States.
At the present time, Americans apparently consume about ten times the amount of salt as is needed for good health. Some studies have indicated that adults eat, on the average, the equivalent of from two to five teaspoons of salt and other sodium sources each day, taking into account the sodium that occurs naturally in the food, what is added during the processing of processed foods, and what is added in the kitchen during cooking. The per capita consumption is about 15 pounds of salt per year.
Individuals who wish to limit sodium intake can do so by reducing or eliminating completely the use of salt as a condiment, and by reducing the intake of foods that are prepared in brine, such as pickles, salted or smoked meat, and salted or smoked fish. However, members of the general public are often unaware that many foods contain large amounts of sodium. For example, the sodium level in some canned and processed foods is as much as 700 times higher than in the raw foodstuff. Thus, one brand of fried rice contains 700 milligrams of sodium per 1/2 cup compared to only 1 milligram of sodium in unprocessed steamed rice. Similarly, one cup of canned peas contains about 400 milligrams of sodium, compared to two milligrams for fresh cooked peas.
For convenience, foods can be categorized as having a low sodium content, a moderate sodium content, and a high sodium content. Representative foods in these three categories are tabulated below.
Low sodium content: All fresh fruits. Cereals such as puffed wheat and puffed rice, shredded wheat, cream of rice, and fresh oatmeal.
Moderate sodium content: Milk products (other than buttermilk) such as cream, sour cream, cream cheese, cottage cheese, and other cheeses. Fresh vegetables such as carrots and celery. Fresh protein products such as shrimp, salt-water fish, oysters, liver, eggs, beef, pork, and poultry. Miscellaneous items such as salad dressings, and sunflower and sesame seeds.
High sodium content: Canned and smoked meats; meats, fish and poultry preserved with sodium nitrite, such as ham, bacon, and hot dogs, chipped beef; and herring. Vegetables such as sauerkraut, canned vegetables, canned tomato products, spinach, beets, pickled vegetables, and frozen and instant potatoes. Starchy foods such as salted crackers, prepared seasoned mixes of rice and pasta, and breads with salted tops. Buttermilk. Miscellaneous foods such as bouillon cubes, monosodium glutamate seasonings, soy sauce, olives, salted nuts, canned soups, potato chips, and baking powder. Fast foods such as pizza, fish and chips, and hamburgers.
Unfortunately, most people are not aware of the different salt contents of foods. However, the excessive average salt intake by Americans is considered sufficiently serious that salt, one of the most widely used of all food ingredients, has been classified with additives that scientists believe should be more tightly restricted or even prohibited from use in foods.
Thus, the Select Committee on GRAS Substances of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, the scientific review group, has said that a reduction in the use of salt in processed foods would help between 10% and 30% of the population with a genetic tendency to high blood pressure. Such a reduction might even lower the incidence of the condition, the panel said.
The Washington Post for Dec. 31, 1980, reported that the Food and Drug Administration, responding to the recommendation of the Scientific Review Group mentioned above, had placed salt in a Class 4 status, meaning that restrictions were recommended.
There are also students of nutrition who are concerned about the levels of consumption of sugar, saturated fat, and cholesterol, which many consider to be excessive. There is also concern as to the levels of consumption of monosodium glutamate and saccharine, as well as of substances that should not be in the food chain at all, such as DDT, cyclamate, aflatoxins, PCB's, asbestos, and the like. Generally most members of the public have little or no awareness of the amount levels of these materials in foods.